By Martin Sinderman
Contributing Writer

Legislation recently introduced in the U.S. Senate could complicate the funding for several high-profile transportation improvement projects locally.

Introduced in October by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., and co-sponsored by seven other Republican senators, including South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint, the “Spending Money Accountably to Rebuild After Tragedy Act” is an attempt to cut spending in order to offset the costs associated with rebuilding the Gulf Coast following hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Under consideration by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs at press time, the SMART Act does away with 2006 pay raises for most federal employees and delays implementation of recently enhanced Medicare prescription benefits.

It also contains provisions that call for repealing funding for the $244.1 billion Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Safety Act: A Legacy for Users legislation passed in August that authorizes federal surface transportation programs for highways, highway safety and transit for 2005-2009.

Passage of these provisions of the SMART Act could pull SAFETEA-LU funding from some 6,371 transportation improvement projects across the nation.

In Charleston, SAFTEA-LU included $10 million earmarked for permitting, designing and engineering work for the planned port access road connecting the south end of the new container terminal at the former Charleston Naval Complex in North Charleston and I-26; $5 million for the demolition of Grace and Pearman bridges; $4 million for an intermodal center at MUSC: and $3 million toward the extension of the Mark Clark Expressway.

In the Lowcountry, SAFETEA-LU contained $10 million toward the widening of U.S. 17 in Colleton and Beaufort counties; also in Beaufort County, another $10 million toward widening the U.S. 278 highway to Hilton Head Island. The legislation also allocated some $40 million toward the planned I-73 connection between Myrtle Beach and I-95.

SMART Impacts

If passed, these SMART provisions could make funding major surface transportation infrastructure projects a more difficult proposition.

The SAFETEA-LU funding “earmarks” are important, though not necessarily make-or-break for the projects involved, according to Haila Maze, Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments’ assistant planning director.

“While the earmarks are very helpful, they are not usually a large percentage of the total project costs,” she said. SAFETEA-LU funds for the port access road and the Mark Clark comprise a small fraction of what will probably be $300 million-plus projects, Maze noted. And while the $40 million for I-73 is a large amount of money in absolute terms, “It’s not when you are talking about a new interstate highway.”

Nonetheless, Maze said, “While these funds don’t carry a project the whole way, they can be critical in getting them off the ground.”

There are no contingency plans being formulated at the S.C. Department of Transportation yet for the possible loss of SAFETEA-LU funds, according to Michael Covington, SCDOT director of administration.

“The funds have been authorized, but the money has not been appropriated,” Covington said.

Congress passes a bill authorizing federal transportation funding every six years but appropriates the actual money via separate legislation annually, he explained.

And since Congress has yet to pass a transportation appropriations bill covering projects authorized in the recent SAFETEA-LU authorization legislation, “We haven’t obligated any of those funds and won’t until we get a go-ahead from the Federal Highway Administration,” he said.

But, Covington added, “Common sense would tell you we would have to adjust priorities and make some changes to our (State Transportation Improvement Program),” if the funds are not appropriated.

Given today’s political climate and the burgeoning federal deficit, the chances of Congress doing that are better now than is usually the case, according to Philip H. Jos, a political science professor at the College of Charleston.

“Ordinarily, I would be skeptical about the likelihood of significant cuts to transportation programs, but the Republican-controlled Congress has been stung by criticism from conservatives about pork barrel spending on transportation and energy-related programs,” Jos said.

And with tax increases, defense cuts and changes to Medicare and Social Security off the table when it comes to whittling down the deficit, the last place left to make spending cuts is in domestic discretionary spending, which includes transportation expenditures. And, this spending comprises about 20% of total government spending, said Jos, “so the cuts are likely to be severe.”

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